Unwanted Wealth, Wonderful Surprise
by z-sasunaru-z
Summary: Sakura Haruno, a princess of Konoha, is tired of all of the elegance of her life. She wants to be like other girls with their skinny jeans and bad-boy boyfriends. Sakura wants it so bad that she decides to sneak out to Konoha. She is saved by a wonderful man whom she knows nothing about, all she knows is his name. Sasuke Uchiha. (I'm not the best at summaries...) SasuXSaku
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, I got the idea for this story while writing another chapter for a story I am already writing. I don't know how I got it, I just sort of thought of it. I hope you like it! Also, since her mother's name was never reveal I chose Aimi which means beautiful love. Sakura's mother is beautiful in this story. **

Chapter 1

Light, classy music played as people swayed around in the ballroom. Women and men who were not dancing were sharing a drink of sweet wine as they conversed about local gossip, women in their most elegant gowns and men in their fancy tuxedos.

"Sakura, darling, don't you want to dance? I heard from quite a few of the upper classmen here that their sons have found an interest in you. You should be glad that I decided to help and tell them about you. They wouldn't have noticed you all the way over here by yourself." Aimi said as she approached.

Sakura sighed, resting her head in her hand while balancing her arm on the table. She sat quietly in the corner of the room, purposely sitting far away from anyone in the room. She wasn't interested in any of the men here; they all searched for a fabulous girl who follows all of the rules while keeping the house clean.

"Sakura, answer me. You know, you look gorgeous! Your dress was fitted for this occasion. You must go show off your beauty, Sakura. How are you ever going to get married when you aren't even trying to look for a husband?" Aimi asked, looking at her daughter hopefully.

What Aimi said was true though, most of it anyway. Sakura looked absolutely stunning in her beautiful pale pink gown. It fit her perfectly, showing off every curve she managed to gain over the years. She didn't have too much but she didn't have too little. There was a perfect amount of make-up that covered up the few flaws on her almost perfect pale skin. Her pink hair was a shade darker than her dress, and it was put up in loose curls that framed her face well.

Sakura hated it all.

She wanted to be like the other girls she saw around town with the skinny jeans and loose fitting shirts. The colored converse and the big headphones were something she always admired. The tons of eyeliner girls put under their eyes intrigued her. The thing that interested her most was the choices of men other girls seemed to have. They went for the bad boys who dressed in baggy jeans and big sweat shirts.

"Are you listening, Sakura? Ugh, what am I going to do with you? You can't follow the simplest of rules and you can't clean to save your life!" Aimi sighed and shook her head.

"Sorry mother, but I really don't want to be here…" Sakura replied quietly.

Aimi scowled, "You will go dance with one of those fine men or you will get no more journeys outside of the castle!"

Sakura gasped, turning and glaring at her mother, "I don't like any of the men here! They all expect too much of me! They are no fun! I just want to be normal!"

"They expect everything a woman is supposed to do, nothing more!" Aimi calmed herself, "You shouldn't want to be normal, honey. All of those common people have a hard time in life but you don't have to worry about a thing. You are lucky." Aimi said, stroking Sakura's cheek soothingly.

Sakura turned away and groaned, looking out the window behind her.

"I know that I need all of this but… I'm just so curious about what's outside those gates." She said, gazing out on the fine town of Konoha.

Aimi sighed, "I know Sakura, but one of these days I know you will realize that what you really want is right here in this castle."

When Sakura did not respond, Aimi decided it was best to end the conversation. She strolled away, back to her friends at their table, all sipping a fine brand of red wine.

Sakura placed her hand on the window, imagining being one of those girls out there with their boyfriends, cell phones, and tight jeans.

"Tonight is the night…" She whispered to herself, "Tonight is the night that I get out of here. I will explore without a bunch of guards and carriages taking me to only the fancy places around Konoha. I want to see everything." Sakura nodded to herself, the hand placed on the glass forming into a fist.

She stood from her seat, gathering the attention of her mother who smiled, thinking her daughter was going to dance. To her dismay, Sakura waved to her, mouthing the word 'bathroom'. Aimi frowned but nodded, watching as her daughter walked a little too quickly down that hallway. She shook her head, forgetting about it and turning back to her conversation.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sakura knew she didn't have much time. Her mother would realize she was gone and send guards out after her. Maybe if she was lucky, her mother wouldn't notice, having been distracted by her friends when Sakura had left.

She didn't have time to change, that much she knew. How far would she get in Konoha? She didn't know that but at the moment she didn't care.

Sakura ran down all of the levels of stairs, happy that all guests were upstairs instead of roaming the halls. As she made her way to the huge entrance doors, she saw guards waiting both inside and outside. She cursed under her breath, giggling slightly at the bad words she had never been allowed to say.

Sakura turned into the first bedroom, looking around for another escape. Her eyes fell upon the window and she smiled.

Running to the window, she undid the lock and pulled the window wide open. She glanced around, noticing a group of large trees leading around the guards. Sakura pulled herself through the window, making sure not to tear her dress in the process, and sank low to the ground. She walked slowly behind the trees before she sped up behind the cover of the large oaks.

She stumbled, giggling quietly at how much fun she was already having. The trees and grass were damp, giving off a musty but relaxing smell. Sakura loved it all.

As she made her way to the end of the woods, she slowed down so the guards wouldn't hear her as she snuck past. Pulling up her dress, Sakura stepped through the taller grass where the gardeners hadn't bothered to cut since it marked the end of the castle grounds and the beginning of old Konoha streets.

Sakura smiled triumphantly. She was getting pretty far. When the lights of the city came into view, Sakura walked out onto the sidewalk. She had never walked on the sides of the street; her mother always insisted that she go by carriage even if everyone else in the city went by car. Sakura spun around happily, spreading her arms wide. She heard yells and cheers from down the street and saw a big parade happening. She beamed, running clumsily to the street.

There were floats of all kinds with different colors, themes, and sizes. Sakura was stunned. It was all so beautiful. As the parade ended, Sakura continued her walk down the street. She stuck her hand absentmindedly into her pocket, realizing she had money there. She pulled it out, glancing around for anywhere to buy stuff. She saw a wonderful looking store with all of those great things people her age had in Konoha. She grinned and ran into the street, not noticing a car speeding right for her.

The man in the vehicle slammed on his brakes. He pressed the button for his car horn.

Sakura spun to the side, staring in shock at the car coming straight for her.

A strong tug at her arm sent her falling backwards and out of the road, narrowly missing impact from the car.

"Are you ok? You shouldn't just cross the street like that all of a sudden…" A man's voice sounded behind her. She attempted to stand up, only to slip on the wet ground and fall. The man was there to catch her, though, and he helped her to her feet.

When she looked at him she saw the most beautiful man in the world, dressed all in rags but he seemed clean.

"Hello? Can you speak?" He asked.

"Oh, yes, I am fine. Thank you for saving me." She replied.

"So, who are you? Someone dressed as nice as you shouldn't be out at this time at night."

"Sakura… Sakura Haruno. Please, don't call the palace and tell my mother! I just wanted to enjoy a wonderful night in this beautiful city."

"Don't worry, Sakura. I can understand why you would want to leave a place like that. Don't worry, I don't have a phone anyway, let alone any money to pay for a payphone."

"Oh, I'm sorry."

"Nah, I'm used to it. Oh, by the way, the name's Sasuke. Sasuke Uchiha."

OoOoOoOoOo

**Hope you liked the first chapter! I really thought that this would make a nice story so I decided to share it with you. Thanks for reading!**

** Remember: REVIEW! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Tenshi Yami – Angel of Darkness: Thanks! That's very nice of you to say even though you don't like hetero fics :D **

Chapter 2

"So, Sakura Haruno, is there a reason you are following me?" Sasuke asked as he spun around to face the pink haired girl.

"Uh, I just thought I could stay with you until I have to leave… you know, so I don't run in front any more cars?" Sakura blushed.

Sasuke smirked, nodded, and wound his arm with hers. "Well, Sakura, where would you like to go?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"Sakura, are you really the princess?" Sasuke asked, taking another sip of his coffee.

Sakura nodded. "Yes, I am the Princess of Konoha. It's not that great."

Sasuke smiled.

_"If I return Sakura, her parents might give me a reward… Haha! Finally I will be able to pay off that debt!"_

"Thanks for the coffee, Sakura." Sasuke said.

"No, I owe you more than just some coffee. You saved my life!" She said, pulling out her money and handing it to him.

He took it in his hand, confused at first, then smiled at her.

"You're very kind, Princess Sakura."

He flung an arm around her shoulders in a friendly way and, surprisingly, it felt perfectly normal to both of them.

"So, where do you live in this gorgeous city?" Sakura asked.

"Anywhere I want!" Sasuke exclaimed.

"Really?" She asked.

He nodded, grinning like a fool.

"You seem unnaturally happy…"

"Why would you say that?"

"You don't look like a carefree person… I mean, you look like a very angry person."

"Where did you get that impression?" He asked.

"Well, you do have very depressing eyes… like something bad happened to you."

He didn't answer just shook his head. "Ha, don't worry about it. I'm very happy now, see?" He said, smiling sincerely at her.

She smiled back.

"Hey, how could you see all of this according to my eyes?" He asked.

"I'm not sure. My mom always told me I was good at finding people's emotions."

_"Maybe this girl isn't so bad…"_

He laughed at his own thoughts and pointed to an approaching house.

"That's where I stay usually. All of my friends are there too. Care to meet them?" He asked.

Sakura nodded vigorously.

He chuckled, "All right, but just to warn you, they are very blunt."

"What do you mean?" She asked.

"You'll see."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Hey guys, I'm back!"

"Sasuke, is that you?!"

"Yay, Sasuke's back!"

"Who's that girl he brought?"

"Hello. I'm Sakura Haruno."

"As in the princess? Awesome! I'm Kiba Inuzuka!" Kiba shouted, jumping from the couch to land in front of her on his knees. "Oh, Princess, you are so beautiful!" Kiba yelled and kissed her hand.

"Hi Sakura, I'm Naruto, Sasuke's best friend!" A spiky-haired blonde said as he threw an arm around Sasuke's shoulders.

She laughed as Sasuke threw Naruto off of him, causing the blonde to stumble into the kitchen, cursing at his luck of falling into the trash can.

Sakura followed Sasuke deeper into the house where she came upon the rest of the people watching TV.

"How do you afford this?" Sakura asked.

"Oh, this is Ino's house." He replied.

"I'm Ino. It's nice to meet you Sakura." A pretty blonde girl stood from the couch, coming forward and bowing. "Would you like some different clothes? That looks pretty uncomfortable."

Sakura nodded, following Ino to her bedroom.

"How did you meet Sasuke?" Sakura asked.

"That's classified information." Ino said and winked.

"What do you mean?"

"Sasuke has a problem with me talking about it." She giggled. "He was very cute as a kid though!" She pulled out a picture and squealed.

"Isn't he adorable?!"

Sakura giggled and nodded. "Wow… he grew up to be a handsome guy."

"No, he's more than handsome! He's HOT!" Ino laughed, grabbing Sakura's arm and pulling the pink haired girl inside her room.

"What size pants do you wear? Oh, never mind. I forgot you were the princess for a second." She pulled out a nice pair of jeans and a t-shirt.

"These should fit you. You look about my size." Ino handed her the clothes and left the room.

Sakura grinned from ear to ear. "Finally, I get to wear jeans!"

She quickly changed, making sure to look at herself in the mirror.

"I look great!"

Sakura left the room and walked back into the living room to be greeted by whistles and hoots from the guys.

"Shikamaru and Choji never introduced themselves. The sleeping one with the spiky hair is Shikamaru. He may not seem it, but he is incredibly smart. Choji is the one eating the potato chips." Ino said.

"Don't call him fat." Kiba whispered.

Sakura nodded and sat down on the couch, only to be surrounded by the other guys. Sasuke and Ino stood angrily by the TV.

"Hey, what do you say about leaving this house and going to mine?" Kiba asked.

"Nah, she doesn't want to go anywhere with you, dog breath!" Naruto yelled.

"Hey, where is my dog?" Kiba looked around.

While the two were distracted, Sakura squeezed past them and hid behind Sasuke.

"I should leave. I don't want you guys accused of kidnapping the princess." Sakura whispered.

"Alright, I will take you home." Sasuke replied.

"Where are you going, Sakura?"

"Sorry guys, but I have to go now! I might see you again though!" She waved to them before Sasuke quickly led her out the door.

OoOoOoOoOo

When the two arrived back at the castle, Sakura was relieved to see that the window was still open.

She turned back to Sasuke and smiled.

"Thanks for the wonderful night." She said, leaning forward and kissing his cheek.

They both blushed and Sakura pulled herself through the window and waved as she retreated out of the room and down the hallway.

Sasuke rubbed his cheek, still blushing.

_You know, I'm glad I met this girl. Maybe I finally found the person who will make me happy… _

The raven smirked to himself and started walking back to the road.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sakura made it to her room without being spotted by anyone until the last second. Right as she shut her door, he mother had come running past her door.

Aimi flung the door open to see her daughter staring out the window in JEANS.

"Sakura Haruno! Where were you?! And what is with these… these jeans?!"

"I'm sorry mother-

"No, I forbid you from leaving the castle until you fix this behavior of yours!" Aimi yelled, slamming the door and stomping away.

Sakura held her head in her hands and sobbed. It was so unfair!

The sound of a stone hitting her window surprised her. She opened her window and looked out, her face streaked with tears and eyeliner.

There, standing far below her window, was Sasuke.

"See you later, Sakura Haruno! Make sure you don't get hit by any cars while I'm gone!" Sasuke yelled up to her window, waving and jogging away.

"Good bye Sasuke Uchiha. Make sure your friends don't die because they miss me so much!" She yelled back happily.

Sasuke laugh barely reached her but it still made her smile.

OoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter Sasuke gets to go dancing! Yay!**

** REVIEW! PLEASE!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Here you go! Enjoy!**

Chapter 3

"Hey Sasuke, are we ever going to see Sakura again?" Kiba pouted.

"You might but I am planning on seeing her today." Sasuke replied.

"How are you going to manage that?"

"She gave me money so I'm going to rent a tux."

"And how does that help you?" Naruto asked.

"There's a ball happening there today and if I look like I have money then they will let me in." Sasuke smirked.

"I can help with that! I can make you look like a gentleman!" Ino volunteered happily.

"Can you even dance?" Shikamaru asked and yawned.

"Actually, I can."

"Are you serious? Sasuke Uchiha can dance? Are you sure you're the same person I declared my friendship to?" Naruto asked.

"It sounds like you declared your love to him." Choji laughed, stuffing a handful of chips into his mouth.

Sasuke chuckled, "Oh, Naruto did once, when he was drunk."

"So, what's your answer Sasuke?" Ino asked.

"Sure, just don't do anything special with my hair." He grumbled.

Ino squealed happily and dragged him out the door.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Do you like this dress?"

"No…"

"What do you think about this one?"

"It's ugly."

"Fine, you pick then!" Aimi left the room.

Sakura smiled and walked up to the dress rack, picking out a black dress.

"Are you sure mam?" One of the maids asked.

"Yes, I will change by myself today, thank you."

Sakura left the gaping maid to stand in the room alone, running barefoot up to her room.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Next time, you better have my money."

The gang left, leaving Sasuke Uchiha panting on the ground. He stood up shakily, walking back to Ino's house.

When he walked in, Ino rushed up to him and hugged him tightly.

"Where were you? I sent everyone out to find you!" Ino pulled away and gasped when she saw his face.

"What happened to you?"

Sasuke had one black eye, many small bruises on his face, and his nose was bleeding.

He sighed. "You know who it was."

Ino frowned. "Never leave my side again!"

"You treat me like I'm a little kid!" Sasuke shouted angrily.

"It's because you act like one! It's time for you to grow up Sasuke! You can't be carefree about everything! Just… let me help you cover those bruises up… I rented the tux for you already. Do you still want to go?"

"Yes…" Sasuke replied quietly.

"Then you better fix that attitude of yours!"

Sasuke smiled and followed Ino to her room. He sat down comfortably in her desk chair, spinning around a few times for fun.

Ino pulled out some concealer and Sasuke stuck his tongue out.

"Do you want to look like this when you get there?"

He shook his head.

"Then you are wearing some make-up!" Ino yelled and set to work.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sakura pulled out her blue-diamond necklace and put it on. She smiled at herself in the mirror.

The black dress looked very nice with the necklace and she stood out a lot with the dark and light colors.

_"If only Sasuke were here… then I would have someone to talk to…" _

"Sakura, it's time for you to greet the guests! Many of the boys would like to meet you!" Aimi announced as she entered the room. She gasped when she laid eyes on the dress her daughter decided to wear.

"Do you not like it, mother?" Sakura asked and twirled around. "I love it."

"It's… unique… but it looks nice on you." Her mother said. In reality, she hated the dress. Aimi did not like dark colors.

Sakura smiled and walked past her mother and out her door. She ran into the ballroom, bowing and shaking hands with everyone who arrived.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sasuke fumbled with his tux once more before he approached the guards at the gate.

The guards looked at him, waiting for him to say something.

Sasuke gulped. "I, uh…" He stumbled over his words. "I'm here for the ball…" He said, pointing to the flowers he brought for Sakura.

The guards nodded and stepped aside.

Sasuke watched them closely as he walked past them and into the castle.

As he made his way up the stairs, Sasuke could hear the classy music echoing through the halls. He scrunched up his nose as he looked at all the fancy decorations.

_"Not my type of castle…" _

He opened the doors the ballroom, walking in slowly so nobody would notice him. He snuck up behind Sakura and tapped her on the shoulder. She turned around with a fake smile on her face until she saw who it was.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here? And how did you get that tux?" She asked.

"Let's go talk over there were people aren't listening to our every word." Sasuke gestured to a table in the far corner.

As they walked over there, Sasuke put an arm around her shoulders, watching the guys watching him enviously and sticking his tongue out at them and smirking.

"So, answer my questions!"

"Alright, alright!" Sasuke chuckled. "I used the money you gave me to rent this tux so I could come see you."

Sasuke handed her the flowers, turning away and blushing slightly.

_"You have this strange effect on me, Sakura..." _

"Aww, that's sweet! Thanks for the flowers, they're beautiful! You sure know how to clean yourself up!"

He laughed, stretching his hand out to her. "Would you like to dance?"

"You? Dance? Ha, don't make me laugh. Can you even dance?"

"Hey now, is that an attitude for a princess? I just wanted to dance so all those guys over there would stop staring at you like that… it's pissing me off."

She giggled quietly. "Don't let my mom hear you say words like that." Sakura warned and accepted his hand, setting the flowers down on the table.

The two walked out onto the middle of the floor and Sasuke put a hand on her hip, taking her hand in his own.

"I'm just going to warn you now, I hurt my ankle a while ago so don't be mad if I trip… and move my hand on accident."

She shook her head at him. "You make it too obvious."

Sakura and Sasuke danced a lot faster than anyone else out there, making everybody look at them.

Sakura's mom was very happy. Sakura was dancing with a very handsome man.

"By the way, I like the dress you chose." Sasuke whispered into Sakura's ear.

"I picked it just for you. The black matches your eyes, hair, and your past. At least that's what I think. But then we have the blue. It matches the tint in your hair and your personality. It's bright but you still have that bad side about you. I like it."

He smiled and leaned close to her. "Oh, really?" When they were about to kiss, Sakura's mother interrupted them by hugging her daughter.

"I'm so happy you decided to finally talk to someone!" Aimi said.

"And who might you be?" She asked Sasuke.

He glanced at Sakura for approval and she just nodded.

"I'm Sasuke." He responded politely and shook Aimi's hand.

"Oh, I've never seen you here before. Did you and Sakura meet somewhere before?"

"Actually, I saved your daughter from being hit by a car when she left the castle."

Aimi and Sakura gaped at him.

Sasuke shrugged. "I did take her back here though."

Aimi smiled. "Thank you very much. I was very worried about her. Sakura, you better be happy this young man saved your life!"

Sakura nodded and Sasuke an arm around her waist. Aimi smiled and clasped her hands together.

"Well, I will leave you two alone. Feel free to go hang out in Sakura's room, and no funny business, you!" Aimi yelled, pointing a finger at Sasuke.

He shook his head. "Not before marriage."

Aimi nodded approvingly and walked away.

"Did you really mean that?"

"Not at all." He responded.

"Did you get something on your face?"

Sasuke froze.

Sakura reached up and brushed it away, revealing a streak of purple.

"Is that a bruise?"

OoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Oh no! Sakura found the bruise! But will she find out who did that to him? Will we ever know? What if it happens again? Why did it happen? **

** REVIEW! PLEASE! DO IT! **


	4. Chapter 4

**Thanks for the reviews! : ) Ino is a year older than Sasuke but they do have a brother and sister sort of relationship. She looked after him ever since... stuff happened. Ino, Shikamaru, and Choji are the same age and Sasuke, Naruto, and Sakura are a year younger. **

**In case nobody realized this, when the lettering goes **_like this _**it is signifying Sasuke's inner monologue. **

Chapter 4

Sasuke stared down at the worried girl in front of him.

"I was wrestling with Kiba." He lied.

"I don't believe you."

"Why?"

"I can see it in your eyes that you're lying to me. Don't keep things from me, Sasuke. You can trust me." Sakura said. "I know we only met a few days ago but I promise that I would never do anything to hurt you, Kiba, Naruto, Ino, Shikamaru, Choji, or anyone else that's close to you!"

Sasuke grabbed her hand, dragging her out of the ballroom and down the hall until he pulled her into an empty bathroom.

He shut the door and locked it.

"I owe some people some money, okay? They got a little… impatient… but don't worry. I have everything under control."

_"Why am I telling her this? Why do I trust her? Why do I even care?" _

Sakura sighed, moving closer to Sasuke.

"Let me help you, please. I will give you the money, I swear!"

_"This is what I wanted, right? To get the money from her and pay him back? I wanted to be rich. But… Sakura is different… she makes me feel so strange… I don't get it!" _

"No…" Sasuke mumbled. "I have to tell you something, Sakura."

_"Why are you going to tell her, idiot? You wanted the money, right? Take the money! No… Sakura deserves to know that I've been trying to get the money…" _

"What is it?" She asked.

_"Don't tell her about the money, it will ruin everything between you and her. Tell her how you've been feeling!" _

Sasuke groaned, covering his face with his hands.

"This is going to sound crazy but just go with it, okay?"

Sakura nodded slowly, worried about what was coming.

Sasuke stared deeply into her emerald eyes.

"I don't get it at all, but you make me feel different! I can't think straight around you! There are no secrets, lies, or any sadness when I'm with you!" Sasuke gripped her shoulders tightly.

_"What is wrong with me?" _

"What are you doing to me?!" He almost yelled.

Sakura smiled lightly, pushing past his arms and wrapping her own around his abdomen, pulling him close.

Sasuke stood still for a moment, questioning his own sanity.

"It's okay Sasuke. I understand how you feel."

The raven relaxed slowly, wrapping his own arms around the pink haired girl before him.

"I've also wanted to this… for a while." He whispered, pulling her chin up and leaning forward slowly. "Just tell me if you want me to stop."

Their lips met softly, Sasuke almost asking if Sakura was ok with it. Slowly, almost unsurely, he kissed her again. This time she responded, wrapping her arms around his neck and tilting her head to the side.

Her eyes fluttered shut and Sasuke watched them do so. He then let himself melt into the kiss as well, grabbing her waist and drawing her closer, closing his own obsidian eyes.

A slight knock was heard on the bathroom door. The sound drew them back into reality and they pulled away. Sakura opened the door slowly, peeking out to see who was there.

"It's just me, mam. I heard some loud noises coming from in here so I wanted to make sure you were okay." A violet haired girl, who was about 2 inches shorter than Sakura, was standing outside the door. She had large pearl colored eyes.

Sasuke opened the door entirely.

"Sorry, that was just me. We were just talking." Sasuke said politely.

The maid smiled and nodded to him before turning back to Sakura.

"I am very happy for you, mam. He seems like a very nice man. He sure is handsome."

Sakura laughed along with the maid. Sasuke stood there, puzzled.

As Sakura and Sasuke left the bathroom, he leaned close to her ear.

"Are maids supposed to say stuff like that? Like talk to you about people and call them handsome and stuff? Not that I mind but still."

"Oh no, Hinata and I are friends so I'm ok with it. She still tends to call me mam, though." Sakura replied.

"Where are we going?"

"Actually, I'm taking you to my room so I can get you some ice for your bruise. Are there any more injuries on your face?" She asked.

"No… I just have one bruise." Sasuke lied.

"Stop lying to me, Mr. Uchiha. It doesn't make me very happy. I'm cleaning all that cover up off when we get in there so you best tell me now before I find out for myself."

"You're scary you know that?"

"I know I am. Now answer the question honestly." Sakura demanded.

"I have a few bruises and scratches here and there but it's not that bad." He replied.

"Does it hurt?" She asked.

"Not really… it did when I first got them though. It actually hurt pretty badly."

"Well you're lucky they didn't hurt you anywhere else."

Sasuke didn't respond.

The Princess opened the door to her bedroom and ushered Sasuke inside quickly.

She pointed to the bathroom.

"The bathroom is right there. Please sit down on whatever comfy sofa you would like."

Sasuke walked in, expecting a normal bathroom with a shower, toilet, and sink but instead was greeted with 2 stand up showers, 1 bathtub, 1 hot tub, 2 toilets, and 1 large sink. There were various toiletries around but what interested him the most, strangely, was the fact that there were diamonds engraved in the rim on the toilets. There was also a gold tooth brush holder.

"Your bathroom is fucking huge!"

OoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Decided to end it there… SORRY! I have quite a few ideas for this story so don't be surprised if I update a lot. **

** REVIEW! PLEASE! DO IT! IT MAKES ME HAPPY! AND MAKES ME WANT TO UPDATE!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sorry for not updating! Luckily for everyone (mostly you guys) I am now on break so updates should be fairly quick. Enjoy! **

**By the way, I don't own Naruto. If I did, I wouldn't be writing this right now. **

Chapter 5

"Sasuke, be quiet!" Sakura shouted. "If my mom hears you talking like that, she would definitely kick you out!"

"How did you get all of this stuff? It's amazing!" Sasuke yelled back, ignoring what she said completely.

"You should see my mother's room. She has diamonds engraved in her bed and the ceiling."

"And you said you thought Konoha was awesome! This place is wicked!"

"Not really… I guess it's because I've been around luxury so long that I just don't like it anymore."

"Funny, we both want the opposite thing."

"You won't want to live here once you see that you have to follow all of these different rules… It's not fun at all." Sakura replied.

Sasuke nodded. "I understand… rules aren't my cup of tea. That's one reason why I live on the streets. You can do whatever you want whenever you want."

The pink haired girl laughed. "I wish my life was that easy."

"It can be."

Sakura didn't respond.

"I really like your toilet by the way." Sasuke said, wrapping his arms around the object and hugging it.

Sakura and the raven both started laughing.

"Sakura, honey, the party is almost over! Would you like to show that nice gentleman to the door?" Aimi asked as she walked into her daughter's room.

Aimi's brow rose at the young man hugging a toilet in her daughter's bathroom.

"I'm not going to ask…"

"Of course, mother. Sasuke, would you please follow me?" Sakura asked politely.

Sasuke stood, dusting himself off and straightening his jacket.

He hooked his arm with Sakura's and nodded politely to Aimi as they walked past her and out the door.

OoOoOoOoOo

_**Knock Knock**_

__Ino sighed and stood from her place on the couch.

She walked over to the door and didn't bother to look through the little peephole(1), thinking it was Naruto and the others returning from their search.

"That took you guys forever!" Ino shouted, pulling the door open.

"Hello, Ino, long time no see." A deep voice regarded her.

"What do you want?" Ino asked, reaching for the gun she kept on the shelf next to the door.

The man, though, beat her to it. He threw the screen door open and pushed her to the ground.

"Where's Sasuke Uchiha?" He asked.

"He's not here." She replied confidently.

He twisted her arm painfully and she clenched her teeth to resist crying out.

"I guess we'll just wait until he gets back." The man laughed cruelly, motioning for his companions to come inside since they were waiting out there, hoping that Sasuke was there so they could take him and leave.

The three trudged inside.

"Neji, keep hold of her and don't let her escape. Kankuro and Temari, you two just go sit down somewhere." He demanded, pulling Ino up by the hair and tossing her at Neji's feet.

The man chuckled darkly and looked out the window.

"Hurry up little Uchiha. Wouldn't want your precious friend to die, right?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"Hold on Sasuke, I still haven't cleaned your wounds properly!" Sakura said and pulled Sasuke into one of the spare rooms.

"Sit down." She demanded and Sasuke did.

She pulled out some hydrogen peroxide, little scrubbers, and something to help cover up the bruises without stinging his cuts.

"Hold still. I promise it won't hurt." Sakura smiled and poured some peroxide on one of the little scrubbers. She reached for a towel and wet it in the sink. Sakura softly wiped all of the makeup off of Sasuke's face, smiling at how pale his skin got with only cleaning off a little bit of the makeup off.

"Does it burn?" He asked.

Sakura laughed slightly. "You have bruises and cuts all over your face and you're worried about a little burn?"

He nodded slowly.

She shook her head. "Don't worry you little baby. Hydrogen Peroxide does not burn your cuts."

Sakura began wiping at the cuts, making sure to cleanse them thoroughly.

"Why does it bubble like that?"

"Because it wants to." Sakura replied.

"Why did you get that powder out?" Sasuke asked.

"You ask too many questions… You don't want your friends to see that you got beat up, right?"

He shook his head.

"That's what I thought." She replied happily.

When Sakura finished with everything, she smiled happily at her work.

"I did a great job covering that up. You look perfectly normal!"

He nodded in satisfaction.

"Good job for a girl who never does her own makeup."

"I do sometimes!"

Sasuke laughed and she grabbed his hand, pulling him out of the spare room and down the hall to the main gates.

"I bet Ino and the others are missing you. You should get back to make sure they aren't worried about their little Sasuke." She teased.

He smirked.

"It's true; Naruto must be sobbing because his only love is gone. And Kiba will be crying because I got to see you and he didn't."

"You're lucky to have such amazing yet strange friends."

"They're your friends too, Sakura. They were so happy when they met you."

Sakura smiled then patted Sasuke's cheek.

"You better get going Sasuke. I really meant it when I said they were worried, especially Ino. She seems to care for you a lot." Sakura said and Sasuke nodded.

"Well, I'll see you late, mam." He smirked and leaned down to kiss her.

Sakura grinned and met him halfway. The two shared a passionate kiss before Sasuke pulled away, grinning from ear to ear, and turned to the door.

He waved on his way out, stuffing his hands into his pockets and walking calmly down the dirt path that was the long driveway to the castle.

Sakura watched him go and sighed. She missed him already.

OoOoOoOoOo

Before long, Sasuke was strolling happily down the sidewalk on his way back to Ino's house.

As he walked up to the door, his smirk formed into a frown.

The house was quiet.

Too quiet.

_"Are they not here?" _

"Ino, are you here?" Sasuke asked aloud as he cautiously walked inside.

Suddenly, the door was slammed shut behind him and guns were pointed straight at his head.

He gulped. "It's nice to see you guys… I like your new weapons."

Neither of them replied.

"Welcome back, Sasuke. Where were you with such an expensive looking tux? You know, I could just take Ino's money… but what's the fun in that?" The same man who had beat Sasuke up the first time was holding Ino up by the hair, pressing a knife to her throat.

"Let her go!" Sasuke shouted angrily, stepping forward.

Neji and Kankuro pressed the guns to either side of his head and Sasuke froze.

"Where's my money, Uchiha?"

"Fuck you Gaara."

Gaara Subaku only laughed.

OoOoOoOoOo

**Again I am sorry for not updating. I hope you liked this chapter and are happy to find out who the man was. 1. I call it a peephole because I don't know if it has an actual name and I grew up calling it a peephole so just imagine that little window thing on the door that you can look through before you open the door. **

**REVIEW! PLEASE! DO IT! **


	6. Chapter 6

**HAPPY NEW YEAR! Hope you had a great one!**

**I was on vacation with my family and had no signal! Sorry! **

Chapter 6

"Why don't you just take some money from that pretty girl you hang out with all the time? Oh wait; she's the princess isn't she?" Gaara laughed.

Sasuke scowled but didn't deny it.

"Come on, I'm sure you already have her wrapped around your finger. All you have to do is say the words! Or, since you're such a great thief, just steal it while you're there!"

"I chose to put that past behind me." Sasuke replied.

"Well then, I guess I really do have to kill this girl." Gaara sighed, pressing the knife harder against Ino's neck, laughing when she tensed.

"Don't worry about me, Sasuke. Don't steal from Sakura. I can see you are very happy with her. I promise I will be okay…"

Gaara cut her neck slightly, drawing blood but not causing a fatal wound.

"You know I won't hesitate to kill her, right Uchiha?"

Sasuke growled low in his throat but finally nodded.

Gaara's eyebrows rose in surprise.

"You're actually going to do it? You care about this girl more than I thought…"

"I'll do it but if I get caught, it's all on you." Sasuke said.

Gaara laughed.

"We'll see about that, Sasuke. You won't say anything to them. I will still be here with Ino, remember? Wouldn't want her getting hurt…"

Neji and Kankuro grabbed Sasuke's shoulders tightly.

"Throw him outside where he belongs. Don't come back unless you have the money." Gaara demanded.

The two tossed him down the front steps and onto the soaked ground. The rain was pouring heavily upon him now.

Temari frowned.

"We should give him a jacket…" She suggested quietly.

"Don't worry about him. He's used to the rain by now."

OoOoOoOoOo  
Sasuke was glad he had some good friends at least.

He had stopped over at Naruto's house where the blonde was hanging out with Shikamaru and Kiba, playing video games.

Naruto gladly invited the drenched raven inside his house, even letting him borrow some clothes.

"Where are you going?" Naruto asked as Sasuke approached the front door while he thought the other boys were distracted.

"I have some things to take care of. Don't worry about it." Sasuke replied.

"Well, enjoy yourself I guess. We'll be here if you want some company."

Sasuke nodded, walking out the door and pulling up his hood.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sakura Haruno spun dazedly around her room, humming to herself.

Throwing decorations every which way, she made sure her room was covered with Christmas decorations.

A sharp knock on her window caused her to stop humming. Twirling her way to the window, she opened it and looked down.

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Sakura half yelled to the man standing with his hands in his pockets in the snow.

"I wanted you to come somewhere with me." He replied.

"How do I get down there without anyone seeing me?" She asked.

"Climb down…" He offered.

"What? What if I fall?"

"I'll catch you. Don't worry." Sasuke smiled.

Sakura nodded nervously but kicked her leg over her window sill anyway.

Grabbing onto the gutter in a death grip, Sakura slowly lowered herself. Looking down to Sasuke for guidance but also seeing how high she was almost made Sakura want to stop moving and wait for someone to save her.

Making it more than halfway down, Sakura grew confident. Loosening her grip on the gutter, she screamed as her foot slipped on a frozen part of the gutter and she fell backwards and away from the wall.

Cowering and waiting to hit the ground, Sakura was relieved to feel two strong arms catch her bridal style before she hit the ground.

"Thanks for scaring me like that, Sakura…"

"Hey, you shouldn't have made me climb down!"

"I didn't 'make' you. I just suggested it." Sasuke replied.

"So where are we going?" Sakura asked.

"That's a surprise!"

OoOoOoOoOo

"We're here!"

Sakura opened her eyes to see tons of people, mostly couples, skating around on a frozen over lake.

"We're going skating?" She asked, excited.

"Have you ever been skating before?" He asked.

"Yes, but only when I was younger. I haven't been in so long." She answered.

Pulling her over to a stand, Sasuke pulled out a few dollar bills he 'borrowed' from Naruto.

"Where'd you get the money?" She asked after they had sat down on a bench to put their rented skates on.

"I stole it from Naruto."

"What?!"

"It's okay, he won't care. He probably won't even know it's gone." Sasuke said.

"You're friends are very nice Sasuke."

"Eh, they're all right I guess. I've known them for a long time."

Sakura laughed. "How did you guys meet?"

Sasuke didn't answer, just frowned.

Sakura looked down. "Let's go skate!" She said.

Sasuke nodded and smiled, gripping her hand tightly and running off to the lake.

"Have you ever been skating before?" Sakura asked.

"We used to go all the time. Ino, Kiba, Shikamaru, Choji, Naruto, and I would come over here and skate almost every day in the winter."

"Did you actually go on the ice?" She asked.

"A few times…" He chuckled. "I guess you'll see why in a minute."

"I bet they were jealous at your natural ability to be perfect at everything." Naruto said.

Sasuke scoffed. "Ya sure… that's definitely true."

"What are you doing here Naruto?" Sakura asked.

"I didn't think I would see you guys here. Kiba's sister sent me to find some guy… he's definitely not here… She sent me here to find some guy she's been 'watching'. I call it stalking. She wants to make sure that he's not going out with any girls." Naruto replied.

"That is really creepy…" Sasuke mumbled.

"I don't blame her. If I was able to leave the castle I would probably show up on your doorstep every day." Sakura laughed.

Naruto looked at her strangely then slowly nodded.

"Well… I should go now… bye guys…" He said and ran away.

"That was kind of weird…"

"Yes, it was." Sasuke replied.

OoOoOoOoOo

Stepping onto the ice carefully, Sakura turned around to pull Sasuke on the ice. He looked kind of scared.

"Are you ok?" She asked.

"I'm fine…"

Gliding around with ease, Sakura waited for the raven to join her.

Sasuke stood still on the ice, making sure not to move a muscle.

Sakura spun around, enjoying herself.

Looking back to her companion, she gestured for him to follow her.

Taking a deep breath, Sasuke took a step, praying that he would be fine.

"Let's see how good you are." Sakura said, speeding up.

Sasuke grew in confidence, speeding up to follow the pink haired girl.

Sakura spun around, hearing a small yelp.

There sat Sasuke on the ground after slipping and falling.

"Are you ok?" She asked, rushing over to his side.

"Ya… my ass hurts though…"

Standing up and grabbing Sakura's shoulders, Sasuke regained his balance.

Sasuke frowned when Sakura began laughing at him.

"That wasn't funny."

"Yes it was."

"No it wasn't."

"Whatever."

Sakura rolled her eyes, grabbing Sasuke's hand and starting a slow pace for them.

"Your face seems to have healed nicely." She said.

"I agree. It feels very nice."

"Is that person still bothering you?"

"That's just it, Sakura…"

"What is?" She asked.

"I don't want to ask you for this but I have no choice…"

"What is it?" She asked again.

"I need money… I don't want to see anyone get hurt."

OoOoOoOoOo

**Next chapter should be posted tomorrow or maybe today. X)**


	7. Chapter 7

**Sunday is now my update day. If I finish any chapters before that, they will be posted. The reason for this is because I've been teaching piano and also teaching English to my little sister. English as in Language Arts. Not the language. **

"How much do you need?"

"$40,000…" He mumbled.

"$40,000? Why did you borrow that much money from this guy?"

"That doesn't matter right now. Are you sure you want to give me the money?"

"Of course I do. But I don't have direct access to it…" She said.

"I don't know what to do then…"

"We can steal it!" Sakura finally shouted.

"What?!"

"I know another entrance in that shouldn't be guarded. If we work quickly, we shouldn't get caught." Sakura said.

"Are you sure about this?" He asked.

"I already said I am. Let's go now." Sakura said, pulling Sasuke off the ice.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Looks like that kid took my advice. He asked his little friend to lend him some money. How typical of him. I wonder… Kankuro, call the castle. I have a little information to sell to them."

"You bastard, Sasuke would never!" Ino yelled.

"Oh really? Take a look at his record, sweat heart. He would do it, especially to save someone who's already saved him too many times to count."

Kankuro handed Gaara the phone quickly.

"How much would you be willing to pay if I told you that I know when and how a robbery will be placed at the castle?" Gaara immediately said into the phone.

Gaara grinned when he heard the response, telling the information greedily.

OoOoOoOoOo

"Right through here Sasuke. We're almost there…" Sakura whispered.

Fitting through the last opening, the two gazed upon mountains and mountains of money.

"There should be $1,000 in each stack. Do you think that bag can hold forty?" Sakura asked.

"I think it can… let's find out."

Stuffing stacks into the bag, the two rushed to complete their task.

"Alright, we have all of it." Sasuke whispered. "Let's go."

They quickly left the room, running down the small passage way and into one of the main hallways.

"Halt! Stop right there, thieves!"

Guards came pouring in from the other hallways, weapons drawn and ready to be used.

Aimi came rushing through the crowd, staring in astonishment at the two standing before her.

"Sakura, what are you doing!?" Aimi turned to glare at Sasuke. "I knew you were bad business. I could feel it. Guards! Throw him in the dungeon!"

"Yes mam."

"No, Sasuke!" Sakura yelled as the guards grabbed the raven and dragged him away.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sitting in the corner of the damp cell, Sasuke buried his head in his hands.

"I should have never taken her to meet everyone… I should've saved her and left…"

"I agree, Otouto. Actually, I probably wouldn't have saved her."

Sasuke's head snapped up to look out the small window on the cell door to see the familiar smirking face of his older brother.

"What are you doing here, Itachi?" He growled.

"Here's the key to the cell, Mr. Uchiha." Hinata whispered, handing the key to Itachi, waving slightly to Sasuke, and rushing away.

Unlocking the door and swinging it open, Itachi slowly walked towards his brother.

Grasping Sasuke's arm tightly, he hauled Sasuke off of the floor.

"Let go of me, Itachi!"

Dragging Sasuke along with him, Itachi didn't answer any of Sasuke's questions.

When they made it close to the main doors, Sasuke finally pulled away from Itachi.

"I'm not going anywhere with you! I can take care of myself!"

Itachi spun around, anger evident in his eyes.

"Says the one who suddenly disappeared one day with no notice and never bothered to call and let us know you were ok. Did you even know that dad died?" Itachi asked angrily.

"I don't care! He didn't care about me anyway!" Sasuke yelled back.

Itachi's hand swung forward, punching Sasuke in the side of his jaw.

Sasuke's hand immediately found its way to his face, covering up the small red mark that was now present.

Itachi cleared his throat slightly, straightening out his tie.

"Go get in the car, Sasuke. I'm sure mom will be happy to see you."

"Wait, Sasuke! Where are you going!" Sakura came running down the hallway, several guards chasing after her.

Sasuke's eyes widened.

"Sakura? What are you doing over here?"

Sakura jumped towards Sasuke, hugging him tightly.

"Oh, I was so worried! I didn't know what they might do to you!" She said sadly.

"Who is this, Sasuke?" Itachi asked, his tone softening.

"Oh, hello, I'm Sakura Haruno, princess of Konoha. Are you related to Sasuke? You two look a lot alike." She said.

"The princess? Were you the one who helped Sasuke steal the money?" He asked.

Sakura nodded vigorously, grinning like it was an achievement.

"How'd you get a key to the cell anyway?" Sakura asked.

Itachi chuckled. "The beautiful young maid over there gave it to me. I just talked to her for a bit and the key was as good as mine."

"Lies… you just said your name and she gave it to you." Sasuke mumbled.

"What do you mean Sasuke?"

"He's Itachi Uchiha, owner of the biggest company in all of Konoha."

Sakura stared curiously at Sasuke's brother who was growing impatient.

"Sasuke, it's time to leave. Mom wants to finally see her son after 5 years."

"You're leaving Sasuke? When will I see you again?" Sakura asked.

"I don't know Sakura… I promise I will come back soon." He whispered before Itachi pulled them apart and led Sasuke outside and to his car.

"Get in Sasuke. I want to go home."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Coming!" Mikoto Uchiha said in a sing-song voice as she hurried to her door, hoping it was her oldest son Itachi coming to visit her again.

There, standing before her was Itachi, smiling lovingly at his mother.

"Sasuke looks so much like you, mother."

Mikoto's smile faded.

"If only he was here… I'd love to see how he's grown…"

"And you can mom. I've found him." Itachi whispered.

Tears formed in her eyes as she watched Itachi step to the side, revealing a slightly shorter version of him, but taking a bit more resemblance to herself.

"Sasuke…?" Mikoto burst into tears, pulling her son close in a bear-tight hug.

OoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: You will find out what happened to Sasuke that made him leave in the next chapter. And Sakura will come back in and as will Gaara and the others. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Sorry for not updating in a while! I promise I am back on track now!**

Chapter 8

Sasuke awkwardly hugged his mother back. It seemed strange to hug her after not seeing her for years. A twinge of guilt passed through him, reminding him of why he left in the first place. Itachi gave him a reassuring smile and Sasuke just ignored him.

Mikoto smiled, tears still falling down her face. She gripped his arm tightly, like she was afraid he would just disappear and she would never see him again. She led him eagerly into the living room, almost forcefully sitting him down, sitting down in the chair across from him, and never removing her hand from his arm.

"How do you like the living room? I've changed it a bit." Sasuke knew she was trying not to bring up what had happened, but her trying to make it go away just made it even harder for him.

Mikoto kept going on about colors and how they fit, but Sasuke didn't want to hear it. "I'm sorry… about what happened."

Mikoto and Itachi both froze, the friendly atmosphere shrinking away.

"It is okay, Sasuke. It's in the past…" Mikoto started, trying to smile.

Sasuke shook his head. "It's not okay! Ki-

"We aren't going to talk about it." Itachi growled.

"We need to! We can't just pretend it never happened!" Sasuke said.

"We can and we will!" Itachi yelled back.

Sasuke balled his hands into fists, holding back. He stood, ignoring the sad look on Mikoto's face. He put his jacket on quickly, stepping towards the door. "Where do you think you're going?" Itachi demanded.

Sasuke spun around, glaring at him. "I'm leaving. If you all just want to pretend like it never happened, you have to pretend I never existed."

Mikoto choked back a sob as her son slammed the door, standing from her seat and rushing to stop him. Itachi got their first, blocking the door and hugging her. "We can't go after him, mother."

OoOoOoOoOo

"Sasuke, hey, are you alright?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke just shrugged, clenching and unclenching his fists. He seemed lost in his thoughts.

"You can tell me about it if you want…" Naruto offered.

Sasuke sighed; grabbing his coat for what seemed the thousandth time. "I'm leaving to see Sakura. I'm sure she wants an explanation for what happened."

_'Or maybe I can get that money…'_ He thought, cursing himself mentally for forgetting all about it. Ino was probably terrified, just sitting on her couch with that freak Gaara next to her.

Naruto just nodded, trying not to show his sadness at not being told.

Sasuke walked past him and out the door, hitting Kiba on the back of the head on his way out.

OoOoOoOoOo

Ino was way less than terrified. In fact, I guess you could say she was enjoying herself. She and Temari had been gossiping for a while and Kankuro was playing video games. They weren't so bad; they just acted tough for their brother. Neji, on the other hand, was completely silent, standing over in the corner. Gaara was seated on the couch away from everyone, casually sharpening his knife.

She sometimes wondered what was taking Sasuke so long. Several things had popped up in her mind. What if he'd been caught? What if he forgot about her? What if he got caught up in other things? But she replaced those stressing thoughts with more gossip to share with Temari. Talking about others' problems made her forget her own situation. A few times she would wonder if Sakura was ok. Sasuke really seemed to care about the girl, even if she was really bright and cheerful.

A slight hint of jealousy even filled her, remembering her long time crush on the Uchiha. Yes, she'd liked Sasuke for the longest time, even convincing herself that he secretly liked her too. After attempting to get closer to the boy, she realized that he had a heart of ice to anyone who loved him like that.

She had realized that they weren't meant to be and that she wouldn't want someone like that as her husband. Sasuke was definitely not how she had dreamed before. They had certainly become closer after Sasuke ran away from his family and now were sibling like figures.

When Ino had met Sakura, she had been immediately jealous. Sasuke treated her like Ino had always wanted him to treat her. Sure, Ino was happy for the girl, but she still wished she could've had that instead.

Ino shook herself out of her thoughts to nod and follow along with the rest of Temari's story.

Gaara abruptly stood from the couch, signaling the others to follow him. "Looks like I'll have to start charging for the money being late… each hour, a finger goes, huh?"

OoOoOoOoOo

"Sasuke, what are you doing here?" Sakura whispered as Sasuke came climbing up to her window.

"I needed to see if you were able to get that money." Sasuke said. "I really need it."

Sakura frowned. "Was that really what you came here for?"

Sasuke crawled through the window, sending her a questioning glance.

"I think I deserve an explanation…" She started.

"Oh, right… you might want to sit down for this. It's a long story."

Sakura sat on her bed, holding her hand out to the comfortable sofa in front of it. Sasuke sat down quickly, leaning forward and fiddling with his hands. It was strange, he never usually got nervous. He just didn't want Sakura to look down upon him.

Well, I kind of ran away from my family… the Uchiha's…"

"Wait, you are an Uchiha?" She asked, astonished.

"I told you my name was Sasuke Uchiha…"

"I didn't really think about it since you were… homeless…"

"Anyway, I ran away from that family after some things happened and I didn't really know where to go. I stayed at a lot of hotels but I didn't have any money. Gaara Subaku helped me with that. It's sort of his business. You borrow money from him… and you have time to pay him back. So, over the years, I borrowed more and more money at the same time I was staying with Ino and Naruto. They both kept wondering how I kept bringing home such amazing things but I had just lied and said I got a great job…"

Sakura nodded, encouraging him to continue.

"Ino found out about it and she was really angry. So, we made a deal with Gaara that I would get a job and slowly pay back my debt. I did get a job… multiple jobs actually, but I kept losing them because I am just stupid."

Sakura sighed, smiling slightly. "You aren't stupid, you're a good person. You have just made some bad decisions but everyone has."

"You really know how to make my story seem like nothing, don't you?" Sasuke teased.

Sakura held her hands up in surrender. "I'm just trying to make you feel better! I promise, I will do whatever it takes to fix this for you, your family, and your friends!"

Sasuke smiled. "Thanks Sakura. I guess I still owe you then, right?" He leaned forward, grinning widely, and pressed his lips lightly against hers before kissing her again, rougher.

Sakura wrapped her arms firmly around his neck, kissing him back.

"Sakura, it's time for dinner!" Her mother called, opening the door. "Why is he here!?"

Sasuke fell backwards onto the couch, staring at Sakura's mother with wide eyes.

"Uh… hi?" He tried.

"Why does it seem she comes in at the worst times?" Sakura whispered to herself.

OoOoOoOoOo

**A/N: Review and tell me what you think… or just yell at me for not updating… that works too…**


	9. Chapter 9

**Thanks very much. I'm really sorry about not updating and I am totally blaming myself for this one. I am glad that even though I haven't updated, you are still reading it and not flipping out on me… that was very nice of you! :D I will definitely make this chapter longer. I'm going to aim for 2,500 words! I guess I'm trying to make it up to those of you still reading… I am really sorry though. I was planning on updating a few days ago but since I had the flu (most of you probably don't know) I had been taking this medicine and it made me REALLY tired so I couldn't type. **

**I am planning on getting everybody someone to love (or at least care about in friendship) at the end. **

** Chapter 9**

"Don't do that, Gaara! He won't know it's happening anyway! Just… let's go find him, okay?" Temari pleaded, desperately hoping her brother wasn't going to hurt Ino. The girl seemed pretty nice even if she didn't know her that well.

"Why should I care if he knows what's going on or not? I've been waiting all night to get some killing, or at least fighting!" Gaara spat back.

"Just… give him a chance. Please, Gaara. If you want, we can go look for him now!" Temari suggested.

Kankuro shrugged in agreement. "It wouldn't hurt, Gaara. Plus, it's a little stuffy in here. You know what's an even better idea? We can let this girl go because obviously Sasuke doesn't give a shit about her."

"No, he cares about her. He just can't get the money." Gaara said, shoving Ino forward. She stumbled to the door, holding her hands out to prevent herself from falling. She stood there for a few seconds before realizing nobody was watching her. She grinned, throwing the door open quickly and running.

Luckily for her, they hadn't realized she left until she was already far enough away from the house, too busy arguing about whether or not Sasuke cared about her. That she was glad for. Running was never really her sport. Especially when it was in the rain.

She ran until she reached what she knew was a safe place. Ino had planned on finding Sasuke but the rain was so cold, leaving her shivering and rubbing her arms as she ran.

She banged on the door, praying they would be home. As the door opened slowly, she jumped at the person who answered it, hugging them tightly.

"Ino, what are you doing here?" Shikamaru asked, looking down at the soaking blonde hugging him.

"I w-was b-being held h-hostage by G-Gaara…" She managed to say.

Shikamaru pulled her up in his arms, closing the door with his foot and carrying her to the couch.

"Wait here. I'll get you some extra clothes and wake everyone else up."

OoOoOoOoOo

"I can't believe she agreed to let you stay." Sakura laughed.

"Well, she did say I had to stay outside. I'm more surprised she didn't arrest me again. Good thing we have this over our heads." Sasuke said, pointing up to the roof above the doorway they were standing in front of..

"What happened with your brother?" She asked.

Sasuke sighed. "I'm planning on going back… I have to apologize to them… even if I can never fully forgive myself."

"What happened to your family, Sasuke?"

The only sound heard was the light padding of rain drops hitting the concrete. Sasuke made no move to answer, only looked at the ground.

The sound of a phone ringing interrupted the silence and gave Sasuke an excuse to ignore the question. He pulled the stolen phone from his pocket, answering it immediately, knowing it was Naruto.

_"Where are you, Sasuke?" _Naruto's loud voice screeched through the phone.

"I'm with Sakura, why?"

_"Did you forget all about Ino? She just showed up saying she ran from Gaara! I swear she could've died of frostbite if she stayed in the rain any longer! She is lucky Shikamaru slept all day and was too tired to go to bed! Nobody would've heard her!"_

"Ino is there?" Sasuke asked.

_"Ya, she's sitting next to Shikamaru and Choji right now. Do you want to talk to her?"_

"Of course I do! Put her on!" Sasuke said.

_"Hey you. Care to tell me why you didn't come and save me?" _Ino teased him.

"Are you ok?" Sasuke asked.

_"Hey, hey, I get that you don't like when your 'little sister' is hurt. Don't worry about me, Sasuke. Shikamaru and Choji are keeping me warm plenty. Sure Gaara was scary but we were all actually having a pretty calm time."_

"And suddenly he just let you go?"

_"No, I ran. Surprising, I know. I hate running but I saw the chance to escape and I took it."_

Sasuke sighed. "I'll be right there. Tell Naruto and Kiba to stay alert."

_"Yes sir!" _

Sasuke hung up the phone, turning to Sakura and grinning. "Care for an adventure?"

Sakura smiled back and nodded, hooking her arm with his. "Where to?"

OoOoOoOoOo

Kiba groaned, leaning back in his chair by the door. "When is he going to get here? I'm tired of watching!"

"Stop complaining Kiba. Would you rather us all be murdered by Gaara?" Shikamaru asked.

"No… hey, is that them? I can see Sakura's pink hair." Kiba asked, pointing out the window.

Naruto looked out, grinning as he watched the two figures come running up the sidewalk and to the door. Sasuke knocked roughly on the door, shaking his wet bangs out of his face. "What's the password?" Naruto asked.

"Open the fucking door right now or I will bash your face in with it." Sasuke said calmly.

"Oh, how do you still remember it?! That was forever ago, Sasuke!" Naruto shouted as he opened the door. Sakura sent Sasuke a questioning glance, only to have him wave it off.

"Oh, you want to know?" Naruto asked. "When we were all in high school, we all used to hang out in this little house out in the woods. We had to make a password so we would know we didn't have to hide all of the food and snacks from the parents since spending their money was kind of… bad you know? We didn't know what to choose until one day I wouldn't let Sasuke in and kept asking for a password. He told me to open the door or he would bash my face in with it. It kind of stuck as our password but only Sasuke could make it so awesome sounding!"

"Wasn't that back when Sasuke was a bad boy?" Kiba asked in a mocking tone.

Naruto nodded, not saying anything else when he saw Sasuke's expression change from amusement to anger.

"Oh… right… we don't talk about that…" Kiba mumbled.

"Talk about what?" Sakura asked.

"Can we…?" Naruto trailed off, looking at Sasuke.

"Go ahead…" He grumbled, sitting himself in front of the couch in the living room, patting Ino on the head on the way over.

Sakura sat beside him, watching everyone else take a seat. "Would you like to tell it, Ino? You know it the best."

Ino nodded, sitting up and sending Sasuke a pitying glance. "It has been a long time since we have even brought this up. Sasuke doesn't like to talk about it. I'm happy that he trusts you enough to let you hear it, though." Ino said, getting into a comfortable up-right position. "A while ago, when Sasuke still lived with his family, he used to be a major bad ass like Gaara. He used to get in fights all the time. He was mean, antisocial, and had some major gambling problems. To this day, none of us know why he had gambling problems. You see, Sasuke is part of the Uchiha family. They run the Uchiha Company which pretty much means Sasuke was part of a rich family."

"He never liked it, though, never much cared for the life of being adored by girls that only wanted his money and guys who despised him for being so popular with the girls. So, Sasuke tended to avoid people. We all just stuck around him. He couldn't really shake us off. I always tried to get him to stop fighting but whenever people made any mean comment to him; he just had to practically punch their jaw off."

Sasuke chuckled. "I didn't punch anyone's jaw off. Actually, I take that back. That on kid broke his jaw pretty bad…"

Sakura made a disgusted face. "I don't like violence."

Naruto laughed. "Sasuke's the definition of violence!"

Sasuke smiled. "Hurry up and tell her the rest before I change my mind."

Ino nodded. "Anyway, one day while Sasuke was home, a particularly bad person came and started talking bad about his family outside their door, calling them names and pushing Sasuke to the edge. This boy so happened to be the son of the boss of an ally company to the Uchiha Company. Sasuke ran after him and Fugaku, Sasuke's dad, ran after him to try to stop his son from killing that boy. Sasuke, being fit and strong, could easily run fast enough to avoid cars coming his way…"

Sasuke cut her off right there, looking at the ground with his hand stretched out to her.

"What happened…?" Sakura asked.

Sasuke sighed, standing up and pacing back and forth on the carpet. "He got hit and was dying. I saw Itachi come running out of the house… he looked angry… then he saw our father and he got this scared look of his face. And when he looked at me, I knew he blamed me. I was too shocked… I wanted to go help my dad but I couldn't do anything but run. I turned and ran… to Ino and everyone else…"

Sakura covered her mouth to stifle a gasp at the news. "I'm… so sorry…"

Sasuke shrugged. "Pitying me is going to do nothing for the fact that it still happened." He said, walking away. "I'm going to bed."

"Goodnight Sasuke!" Naruto yelled after him.

Sakura furrowed her eyebrows in worry. She could see it in his eyes, just like when they first met. He was upset, really upset. She stood, waving to everyone. "I'm going to talk to him."

"Good luck." Naruto said. "You'll need it."

Sakura nodded in thanks, following after the raven haired boy.

OoOoOoOoOo

Sakura creeped up slowly to the door, peering through the slight opening, and watching Sasuke stare at the ceiling. She gathered up her courage and opened the door, ignoring his questioning look and sat down at the edge of the bed.

"I know you think that me feeling bad for you is bad, but I can't help it. I just want to say that… no matter what happened or what you did before, all I care about is you now. You can forget about the rest. I'm sure your mother and your brother want you to forgive yourself. It seems they really just want their Sasuke back."

Sasuke shook his head. "You confuse me so much. You are so unlike me. I wouldn't feel bad for anyone, I just wouldn't care… but you… you make me care." He chuckled lightly. "I guess it's just because we are opposites. You change me and I change you."

Sakura smiled back at him, grasping his hand and entwining their fingers together. "You better hope they forgive me. That way, I'm technically eligible to be married to you!" Sasuke teased her.

"I wouldn't mind that. Better than marrying one of the guys at the dance; they expect me to behave and stay home and clean and stuff. I don't want to do that!"

"Ya, we have Ino to do the cleaning." Sasuke shrugged.

Sakura laughed. "I'm sure she's honored to be cleaning for such a famous guy such as you."

He laughed with her. "Right, famous for what exactly?"

Sakura tapped her chin in mock thought. "Hmm… you're right. That's a difficult one. There are just so many things to choose from!" Her expression then turned slightly confused.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I have a question. If you were so tough in high school, why didn't you just beat Gaara up instead of letting him beat you up?"

Sasuke sighed. "You really want to know a lot about me, don't you? Well, since it's you asking, I vowed to never fight again because I don't want to see my friends and family get hurt."

Sakura smiled, patting his head. "You know, you aren't as bad as you were made out to be."

He grinned back at her, grabbing her waist and pulling her close. "That's only for you to see, Sakura."

She giggled, wrapping her arms around his neck as he leaned in to kiss her. They sat there, just kissing and ignoring the world.

The world didn't want to leave them alone, though.

"You were right, Ino! How did you know?" Naruto whispered as he peeked through the door.

Kiba made a disgusted face as he leaned over Naruto so he could see as well. Ino ran up, looking almost as excited as a little kid getting a puppy, and pushed the two out of the way so she could witness what she had been waiting for forever. Shikamaru and Choji scrambled up behind them, wanting to see what was happening as well. Shikamaru took one look and left, muttering a soft "troublesome" as he walked away. Naruto covered his mouth to stifle a laugh.

"Guys, I can't believe this is happening! Sasuke has never even shown interest in a girl, let alone kissed one!" He whispered.

Ino pouted and glared at him. "Sasuke has kissed girls before!"

Shikamaru came walking back to the doorway. "And how exactly do you know this?"

Ino laughed quietly. "Who wouldn't be able to tell when you see how experienced he is! Just look! No guy new to kissing would be able to kiss like that! That's the only reason why Sakura isn't screwing up! He's leading the way!"

Shikamaru studied her for a moment then walked away.

"Of course you would notice that, Ino." Kiba whispered, rolling his eyes.

Kiba's eyes almost popped out of his eyes as he watched Sasuke pull Sakura into his lap. "Oh my god, this is all going too fast!"

Ino almost squealed, having to hold herself back as she shoved Kiba out of the way so she could see everything. "This is so exciting."

"I want to see!" Naruto whined, pushing her out of the way.

Soon, the two blondes were pushing and shoving each other and Kiba finally joined in, shoving both out of the way and laughing in triumph until he was tackled. In his attempt to break them apart, Choji ended up shoving Kiba through the doorway and into the room.

Sasuke's eyes snapped to the door, glaring at the 3 outside and the brown haired boy smiling innocently from the carpet floor. "Get the hell out!" He growled.

Kiba gulped, saluting him. "Yes sir!" He yelled, running past Ino, Naruto, and Choji and hoping that Sasuke would kill them first and give him time to escape.

Sakura blushed madly, rolling over and leaning against the wall. Ino just winked at her and Naruto just stared at them and walked over to Sasuke, grabbing his arm and laughing at him. "Oh my god, what have you done with Sasuke?! My pure, innocent little boy is acting all grown up! It's making me so sad!" He wiped a fake tear from his face, and moved in to hug the raven.

Sasuke held back a smirk, trying to focus on being irritated with the blonde. He held his arm out to keep the other teen from hugging him. "Get out of here, Naruto."


End file.
